Self Help

Happy Valentine’s Day! A perfect day – set aside to think about those you love and who love you right back. It’s a feel good day when it seems like everyone is smiling and eating chocolate. Oh yeah, I love this day.

Did you know that love does more than just make you smile and feel warm inside? Love is actually as good for your health as it is your emotions.

Consider the love-ly facts:

A study last year from the University of Pittsburgh found that women in good marriages have a much lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those in high-stress relationships.

The National Longitudinal Mortality Study, which has been tracking more than a million subjects since 1979, shows that married people live longer, have fewer heart attacks and lower cancer rates, and even get pneumonia less frequently than singles.

A new study from the University of Iowa found that ovarian cancer patients with a strong sense of connection to others and satisfying relationships had more vigorous “natural killer” cell activity at the site of the tumor than those who didn’t have those social ties. These desirable white blood cells kill cancerous cells as part of the body’s immune system.

Doctors at the University of North Carolina have found that hugging may dramatically lower blood pressure and boost blood levels of oxytocin, a relaxing hormone.

Now…off to the kitchen to make a big, homemade heart-shaped cake for those who make my life not only happy but healthy as well.

Hiking and walking are excellent ways to get fit, stay fit AND enjoy the great outdoors while you’re at it.

As a whole, we’re a pretty funny lot, aren’t we? We frequent McDonald’s, Burger King, Sonic and Arby’s – we spend hours in front of the computer and television – we drink Coke after Coke after Coke….then we have the audacity to wonder why our clothes are shrinking in the closet.

When the exercise gurus tell us we need to eat less and do more, we decide to give it a try. Sooo, on the next trip to Mickey D’s, we get a Filet O’ Fish instead of a Quarter Pounder, and we even go for a 10 minute walk around the neighborhood. We think we’ve made some pretty radical strides, but a week later those Levi’s aren’t any loser. The dramatic ones in our crowd, at this point, look heavenward and wail, “I’m doing all I can!”

Oh, but we’re not. Not even close.

Let’s break this down with the good the bad and the ugly. The above? That was the ugly. Trying to motor around in tight jeans – it doesn’t get much uglier.

Now, let’s get the bad out of the way. To lose weight, you have to abide by the numbers. You have to play the numbers game and… well, no one ever said it was easy.

Here are the Numbers:

2 – the number of pounds experts tell us that we can safely lose a week. Doing anything unsafely is foolish, so don’t even think about aiming for more than 2.

7,000 – the number of calories it takes to make up those 2 pounds.

1,000 – the number of calories that must be dealt with (on average) each day to achieve the 2 pound a week weight loss.

500 – the number of calories you need to cut out of each day to lose 1 pound a week.

So, going by the information above, we can deduce that in order to lose 1 pound a week, we need to simply cut out 500 extra calories from our daily eating. (When eating out, substituting a salad for a large sandwich and fries would care of this particular deficit.)

OR, we could increase our activity and try to burn 500 extra calories a day. That’s pretty tough to do if your days are as busy as most people – but it can be done.

Of course, if one’s aiming at the 2 pound a week loss, they’d have to do each (cutting back 500 calories and burning off 500 calories daily.)

Below are a few activities along with the number of calories they burn for 30 minutes. Double each to see what an hour will get you. They’re based on a 150 calorie person – if you weigh more, you’ll burn more and if you weigh less, you’ll burn less.

Calisthenics (sit ups, push ups, pull ups, leg lifts, etc.) – 272

Walking Briskly (3 mph) – 112

Working out on the Treadmill – 204

Cleaning House (moderate effort) – 119

Cooking – 85

Bowling – 102

Golfing – 153

Tennis (singles) – 272

Tennis (doubles) – 204

Mix and match and see what combinations you could fit into your day(s). It’ll be a lot easier when winter finally makes way for spring. I’m beginning to stare longingly at the tennis courts when I drive by them…. That’s a great sport for fitness, one hour certainly meets the goals, and it’s so much freakin’ fun. The calorie count is actually higher for tennis players like me – you know, the ones that end up chasing a lot of balls.

Have a great weekend – if you’re lucky enough to have warm weather, get out there and enjoy it enough for the rest of us.

While researching gum disease, I learned a few things – hooray for my inner scholar, hadn’t seen her in a while.

Did you know that tobacco use greatly increases your risk of gum disease? Another reason for those who are trying to quit smoking to keep going until they win the fight.

Stress also puts an individual in the higher risk zone for gum disease. Stress makes it harder for the body to fight off infection, including periodontal disease.

A few other factors that increase your risk of gum disease:

Diabetes

Down’s Syndrome

Oral contraceptives, anti-depressants, and certain heart medicines

Poor diet

Not getting enough sleep

A warning to our smoking friends, I’d never read this before and thought I’d pass it along – if dental surgery is looming before you, you need to kick butt(s) beforehand. Here’s the link to the study’s findings: Smoking Impairs Outcome of Periodontal Procedures.

Not to harp (she says as she reaches for the harp), but if you have to quit for a dental procedure, just go on and quit for good.

When your dentist tells you to floss, she isn’t just filling a lapse in the conversation. She knows flossing isn’t just essential for good dental health, it’s good for your overall health as well. You could make a case for flossing being as important for your health as adequate exercise and a healthy diet.

Study after study after study proves that flossing directly prevents gum disease. If you’ve never given much thought to gum disease, the following facts might surprise you.

Consider this:

Gum disease increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Diabetics with gum disease have a lot more trouble controlling their disease.

Pregnant women with gum disease often have low birth-weight babies.

Gum disease and bad breath go hand in hand.

Periodontal Disease (gum disease) leads to tooth loss. It’s the number one reason people lose their teeth.

Any problems inside the mouth mean having to see the dentist more often.

1 – 5 are bad enough, but number 6 serves as a personal motivator. Call it a phobia, call it fear, call it irrational….but, whatever you do, don’t call me until I’m through flossing.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day, and I thought it was appropriate to set aside a few minutes and talk about Dr. King and what he stood for. The picture above is one of my favorite pictures of this gentle giant because it’s one of the few we actually have of him smiling. We don’t have nearly enough pictures of him smiling – because he didn’t have nearly enough opportunities to do so. A part of me wishes he had been born in the sixties as opposed to have being killed in the sixties, but I don’t believe the Civil Rights movement would have had as much success without this incredible leader.

I’ve read a lot of speculations from people lately – about what King’s reaction would be to our war. I will absolutely not speculate on someone’s opinion, especially when they’re no longer alive to have their say. I just want to say this: I have read a lot of books on this man and on his life. He has always fascinated me because of his bravery and boldness. The man stood up before the world and basically said, “I’ll take you on and I will not back down.” He was killed by hatred…but he didn’t go away. His words still encourage, inspire and motivate. His face is as well known and recognized as any President, more so, probably, than 1/3. He has his own day set aside for all of us to reflect on his life and his word.

The hatred helped to further his cause, not end it. No doubt he’s in Heaven smiling every time he thinks about that!

As for his stance on peace – he was a Baptist minister who believed in peaceful living. He was against violence. I totally agree with that assessment. However, he obviously wasn’t afraid to fight for what was right. His fight was against people who were his own countrymen. They were Ignorant, they were Violent, they were Wrong – but they were a different kind of evil and his peaceful “fight” against them was effective. The same type of approach wouldn’t stand a chance against the kind of hatred that attacked our nation on September 11.

As for where his political affiliations would lie, no one can say. I believe he may have been the first to rise above all the elephant vs. donkey nonsense, the way he did the white vs. black nonsense. I believe he would have kept preaching unity over division. Like I said, a part of me truly wishes he had been born in ’68 rather than killed in ’68.

He was a Christian, and I’m certain would respect Bush’s spirituality. I don’t believe he would agree with everything Bush stands for, everything Clinton stands for, and certainly not everything Kerry stands for. He would have been his own man because he didn’t know how to be anything else.

I hope you’ll research this man and learn all you can about him. He’s a large part of our nation’s history, and you’ll never find a better example of a fighter.

Fighter. That’s the common thread shared by all of my own personal heroes and heroines. They fought – not just for themselves, but for others. Jesus, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr…. the world is a better place because they lived.

A final thought, many people say that (as a nation) we’re wrong to try to “police” other countries. That, essentially, we shouldn’t concern ourselves with the horrible way they treat their people. Whenever I read criticism for our military or our leaders, I always think of a quote from non other than Mr. King himself:

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When you see an article labeled “Articles by Other Authors,” this means the post is either a sponsored post or a post by a freelance writer, looking to build his/her online portfolio. All posts written by me are signed with my name ~ Joi.

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